Magickal Monday: Your Guide to the Week Ahead - 7/09/12

Be ready to move Monday morning as the Moon enters active Aries at 8:15 a.m. (all times are EDT), opposes Mars mid-afternoon, then begins to cozy up to Uranus, squaring Pluto. Remember that manipulative, passive-aggressive behavior I mentioned last week? Oh, yeah. More of the same. And everyone wants to do it *their* way. You, too, probably. Be warned, and remember that someone really needs to be the adult when everyone is letting their inner child out to play. Maybe that could be you.

Tuesday morning brings the Moon into a nice trine with Mercury, while still under the influence of Uranus. If you’ve been looking to stand out from the crowd in some way, this morning would be a good time for that. The Moon’s waning square to the Sun (quarter-Moon) is at 9:49 p.m.. It could provoke a crisis — keep moving forward, and call on your Ancestors for help.

Early Wednesday morning, the Moon squares Saturn, giving a serious start to the day, then moves into Taurus at 7:30p.m. A good time for relaxing, and/or gathering your resources.

Thursday morning, the Moon trines Pluto, giving a “figure it out and get it done” vibe to the day. Early Friday morning, Uranus goes retrograde.

The retrogrades of the outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) are not as outwardly obvious as the retrograde times of the inner planets, like Mercury. But an outer planet retrograde means that it is staying in one area of the Zodiac for a very long time. “The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind exceeding fine”. Where does 4 to 8 degrees of Aries occur in your chart? The meaning of that house will let you know which areas of your life Uranus is activating right now. (If it’s in aspect to natal planets as well, you’ll want to take the meanings of those aspects into consideration too.) This is where you’ll want to look at your needs for freedom, independence, and where you might want to think differently. (Yes, differently. I refuse to bow to Apple’s appallingly Uranian grammar).

Friday is free of any major lunar aspects, but Mars is getting close to that opposition to Uranus, and it’s near the Ascendant around lunchtime through most of the week. Try not to schedule any crucial business lunches this week, and if you do, expect the unexpected, and, possibly ruthless, selfish behavior.

Saturday, the Moon moves in to Gemini around 8:30, then squares Neptune a few hours later, heralding the communication difficulties that tend to come with Mercury Rx, which happens later that evening, along with the Sun square Saturn. But there is a lunar conjunction with Jupiter and a sextile to Uranus, so fun can still be had, but take everything you hear with a grain of salt or two, and don’t shirk responsibilities just because you are having fun. Drinking and driving is never a good idea, but this night is a particularly bad time for that.

There’s no need to panic over the Mercury retrograde. I think one of the reasons people get so het up over Mercury Rx is because we live in a highly technical and linear society with a complete focus on production and consumption. If we could just be, spend some time in contemplation, wander in Nature for a while and let creative connections happen, we’d be using the astrological weather appropriately, and be in a lot better shape for intellectual, communications, and technology issues that do crop up.

Most of us can’t avoid dealing with our rigidly linear and highly technological society, and that society tends to be very susceptible to Mercury Rx upheavals. But we can be aware of how best to handle a Mercury Rx magickally. Beyond the obvious and ubiquitous advice to double-check everything and try to stay as organized and on top of things as possible, because communications will get screwed up easily, there are a couple of ways to use a Mercury Rx constructively, instead of worrying about what’s going to get FUBARed next.

First, assess all critical channels of communication and technology. Think about things like backups and where you can add redundancy and resilience to systems that are important to you. This is particularly crucial in this time of climate change intersecting with our high-tech society. When an unforeseen line of storms can leave large swaths of the Washington, DC area — one of the most critical and globally-connected cities in the world — without electricity for days at a time, and wildfires spread over vast areas, forcing mass evacuations, it’s good to think in terms of adaptability. Consider getting that generator, or the four-terabyte backup drive to consolidate all your files, photos and music, or a land-line AND a cell phone, or a stash of emergency food. What if you ever had to evacuate your home? Do you have a plan? If something fouls up during a Mercury Rx, approach it as an opportunity to identify issues and strengthen the systems you have in place. With both Mercury and Uranus retrograde, we're likely to see continuing problems and issues with electricity cropping up globally over the next few weeks.

Next, relax! Let things get a little fuzzy. Put down the electronics. Get away from the computer. Go spend some time outdoors. Meditate or journey, or try that pathworking you’ve been meaning to do for a while. Allow your intellect to take a walk on the wild side and interact with the symbols of magick and Nature. Your iPhone will still be there when you get back. Find time for this kind of break on a daily basis, even if it’s only for a short while.

On Sunday, the Moon sextiles Mercury and conjuncts Venus in the morning — a fine time for pleasant conversations.

Next week, we’ll look at how Mars will be triggering that ongoing Uranus-Pluto square. Have a great week!

Diotima Mantineia began studying astrology in 1968, taking classes from Zoltan Mason in New York City. For the next 22 years, she practiced astrology only for herself and her friends, continuing her studies while watching an increasingly humanistic, psychologically oriented, modern astrology blossom through the work of leading astrologers such as Noel Tyl, Liz Greene, Rob Hand, Marion March, Stephen Arroyo and Howard Sasportas. In 1986, Diotima began her study of Wicca and started reading Tarot, discovering that she is a gifted intuitive. In 1991, she began practicing both astrology and Tarot professionally. She majored in plant and soil science both in college and grad school, and grows much of her own food and "materia magica" on her land in the mountains of western North Carolina. Diotima’s personal spiritual path is rooted in the Western mystery traditions, the principles of Yoga, and a profound connection with the natural world. Wicca gives structure to her spiritual journey, and she utilizes shamanic practices for healing and to live in harmony with Nature. Over 15 years of studying Chinese martial arts has given her a deep appreciation of Taoist thought which has strongly influenced her magical and personal philosophy. You can find her at www.uraniaswell.com

Comments

Byron Ballard
Friday, 13 July 2012

Good wet morning! I'm going to start the Merc retro bit over on FB and will link to this. I love the way you write about it. It's so easy to get waylaid by the challenging aspects and overlook what this time is good for. I personally am looking forward to finishing up some projects in the nect 3 weeks. Love to you, my friend!